Apparatus for smoking and curing meat products.



PATENTED FEB. 20, 1966.

w. EPPINGER. v APPARATUS FOR SMOKING AND CURING MEAT PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1904.

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No. emcee.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ssoiouors.

Patented Feb. 20, 1966.

Application filed November 2, 1904. Serial No. 231.038

To all whom, it Ina/g; cmtccrn:

Be it known that LVVILLIAM. EPPINGER, e ci.izen of the United States, residing at Now i Ol'fli, in the county 01 New York and State of New York, have invented it new and useful Apparatus for Smoking and Curing Meat Products, of which the following is a specification.

The ordinary process of smoking or curing most products such as sausages, horns, &e.consists in building a 'WOOd. fire, usually out of hickory or oak chips and shavings, in a Lil compcrtunnent or smoke-house, and after.

such fire has reached a smouldering condition in placing the meat products in such compartment for c sul'licient time to allow them to be slightly cooked and smoked to acquire the flavor of the smouldering Wood fire. This has been. found to he it slow, expensive, and o irregular process, because it takes consider able time to bring the lire to the right condi-.

tion, because the heat of the smouldering fire is not very great, and because diifl'ercnt tires will necessarily be different in cooking and smoking properties.

I have discovered that most products can be cured and smoked in uniuch more satisfactory and expeditious way by subjecting them in closed,compartment or smokehouse to the host and products of combustion of ordinary illuminating-gas burned in the ordinary wuy unmixed with air until it issues from. the jets, as in the ordinary illuininsting-hurners which give 2. yellow or iliuininsting Home, or with an unsatisfied conihustion as distinguished from the Bunsen burners, in which air is mixed with the gas helore con'iluistion, giving at colorless or complete combustion. By trotting the moot products in this Way the some are cooked and on cppotizingz; smol zy flavor is imported to the some. llloreovcr, as gas -ficmes co. .ily regulahlc the cooking; and curing, prcc esscs can be much more cccursti-ily performed than over smouldering wood life.

In some instill: here a, wood lire is pa-1* ticulnrly desired the meat pri'iducts are sum. jected for '21. small port of the lost osrt of the process to the action of such fumes.

The present invention covers an apparatus which has been especially designed to c rry out such procc in on gjicditiiuis and simple manner 21ml in such way that all th products contained within the sp 'izu'utus will he uniformly treated.

The accompanying drawings show on.

{rout lower portion of the box.

pa'rstus arranged for practicing the invention.

Referring to said drawings, Figure l. is a front elevation of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a crosssectional View.

In detail, A designates a he); or compartment, leading from which. is an outlet or es cope-pipe B. The box a hinged door C, which can be tightly closed by locks D. Arranged in the box are ribs or projections 'E,

on which may he placed poles or bars, to

which the meat products are hung or on which may he slid perforated trays carrying the meat products. The door Ohms on open" ing 1*, which. is filled with glass, and inside of the door is arranged a thermometer G, by which the temperature inside of the box can. be We tched. A gas-pipe ll, having it suitable valve or pipe l, extends into curl across the front lower portion of the hoxf Pivoteal on. this ipe is a looped pine J. which is porforatnl or which is provided with suitable nippics or burners projecting; therefrom. The entls of this looped pipe J are pivoted on the pipe ll between collul's, and communication is made through these ends so that the nipplas will always receive supply of gas from the pipe designates o pipe J.

chain or wire rope is coin'mctecl to the rear part of the looped pipe J.

Small draft-holes L arc urmng l support luv the looped v inv the insideof the top 01" the box arranged admit-tube N, connecting with. the escape-pipe B. This croft-tube has suite. o holes 0 arranged along it lengthwise, so that the outlet will be the some lvoth at the front and the rear oi" the l'JUX, whereby all the .i'ueot products will he treated to the some (lcgror of heat zunl smoke.

A weighted. damper P is pivoted in the escupepipc B. This damper is preferably pericrsterl curl fits somewha lUOSPly intothe escape-pipe normally to restrict the escape to i smell amount, but us to open eutoinsticul ls when the uresenirc 0 draft lMCOIHGS too great in. the box or ctmwpartmcut.

The apparatus is used as follows: The most products are placed in position in the box or conipcrti'uent. The looped pipe J is lSOLl, the gas turned. on in the pipe ll, and the issuing icis from. cthe nipples are ignited. The loosed pipe J is then lowered to position. This wil give 2. series of smell ordinary ycl' low gas-flames across the box. The door is then closed' and the valve I operated to get the proper ten'iperature inside of the compartment. The heat and products of combustion from the flameswill sooncreate a dense smoke inside of the compartment which will cook and smoke the meat products. .T he draft-holes being small the combustion will be in some measure an unsatisfied one, which will give a smoky flavor to the meat products. By reason of the perforated draft-tube N the cooking and curing will be the same on all the products, both in the front and the rear of the box. As the smoke be comes too dense the damper P will slightly lift and will allow a small escape of the smoke and products of combustion, so as to enable the process to be carried on until the meat products reach the right condition.

If desired, at the completion of the process the door is opened and a few shovelfuls of sawdust or chips thrown in ontop of the gaspipes to impart a smoky wood flavor to the meat products. After the charge has been sufficiently cooked and smoked the gas is turned off and the sn'iall. lire, if one is used, is allowed to QO out, so that when the door opened to withdraw the cured meat products there will be very little smoke or fumes. A serious objection to the ordinary smoke house using a wood fire entirely is that it is necessary to open the door before the fire is out, allowing the fumes to escape, which often causes complaint to be made in the neighborhood and action taken by the authorities. The pivoted construction of the looped gas-pipe allows the same to be lifted up through the ashes and sawdust from the wood when the nipples are to be rc-ignited for the next charge.

The details of the apparatus herein shown and described. may be varied by skilled mechanic without departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what i claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An apparatus for curing meat products, consisting of a closed crnn'partrncnt having a door and also an outlet, a valved gas-pipe extending within said compartment and provided with a series of burners near the floor of the con'ipartmcnt, through which gas issues unmixed with air, said compurtmcnt being; provided with an air-inlet restricted in size relatively to the capacity of the burners and the pressure of gas so that only sulliciont air is admitted to support combusl ion, whereby smoky flames are produwd. at the burners for the purposes set forth. 4

2. An apparatus for (tlli'llg moat products, consisting of a closed compartment prmddcd with a door and also an outlet, a gas-pipe extending across the front of the compartment near the door and the floor, a branch pipe connected to said pipe at a point within the compartment and extending rearward into the compartment near the floor, said the bottom thereof, from which the gas issues unmixed with air, an escape-flue extending therefrom, and an automatic damper in the escape-flue, whereby the gas is consumed with an unsatisfied combustion and the meat products are cured by the products of com-- hustion.

5. An apparatus for curing meat products consisting of a closed compartment provided with. a door and an outlet and also with a restricted air-inlet, a number of gas'burners in thebottoin of the compartment from which the issues unmixed with air, a perforated draft'tube extending across the top of the.

compartment, and an escape-pipe connected with the draft-tube, whereby the gas is consu med with an unsatisfied combustion and the meat products are cured by the products of combustion.

('3. An apparatus for curing meat products consisting of a closed compartmeht having means for holding meat products therein, said compartment being provided with a door and an outlet and also with a restricted air-inlet a number of gas-burners in the bottom of said compartment from which the gas issues unmixed with air, a perforated draft-- tube extending across the top of said compartment, an escape pipe connected with said draft-tube, and an automatic damper in said csca'popipe, whereby the gas is consumed with an ui'isatisfied combustion and the meat products are cured by the products of combustion.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence olXtwo subscribing wi tncsscs.

l/V'IL] AM E I? IN GER.

vVi tn esscs:

FHA N K I [in M EL, (mono it llEIN IUCKEL. 

